locker_monster | "I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant, the men were a bit shy."

Um, so, the title, "Let's Kill Hitler". That's Moffat being Moffat, isn't it?

Because you totally expect an entire episode about Hitler and maintaining timelines and all that jazz. And what do we get? Hitler in a cupboard. You have to admire Moffat's audacity though. I suppose, really, the title was just to get people talking.

What we did end up with was so much better. The beginnings of River Song. As a resolution to the Melody storyline, it seems kind of sudden. I thought they would spend the rest of the season looking for Melody. Instead, she was right in front of Amy and Rory their entire lives. A nice twist that. Mels has that line about how the Ponds did get to raise her. So in a weird, timey-wimey way, they did get to raise their daughter and see her grow-up. Conversely, Melody got to grow up with her parents. I'd love to see a scene where Amy and Rory meet the River they know. Now that everything has been revealed, it'd be neat to see how differently River acts around them.

Though, there are some gaps to fill in. Like, what happened to Melody once she was taken. Obviously she was trained and conditioned to be a weapon and then we saw her escape. But how did she go from New York City 1969 to Leadworth 1996? Time travel? And then there are the River's formative years. Gah, this is so confusing. Which name do we use? Melody? River? Melody's the Doctor killer and River's the time travelling archaeologist? Yeah, that works. It's so strange how it's the Doctor who has a hand in shaping who she is. He gives her her diary. He starts her on "Spoilers" and "Sweetie".

As big as this episode seemed, it also felt very contained. It's not a mad romp through Berlin. Most of the episode we spent inside of a justice dispensing robot. Interesting concept. Are they like Time Agents? A branch of the Time Agency? My local newspaper had an article about this episode and it was going on about how this episode is about preserving timelines and stuff. It's kind of not, though. The justice robot people aren't messing with time per se. They just dole out punishment where they think necessary. I think the episode was more about that. If you had time travel, do you have the right to go back and punish people who are already dead?

Anyway, the thing I adored the most about this episode was the extended flashback to Amy and Rory's childhood. It seemed kind of cheap that we haven't met Mels before (this being Moffat you think he would have set this up way back in season five, but I digress), but seeing Amy and Rory when they were kids was just awesome. We already knew what kind of kid Amy was, but it was nice to see Rory. Funny how he's the older one but Amy was always bossing him around. He was even shorter than her when they were kids! But he put up with it because she was the only girl for him. That scene in Amy's bedroom was so lovingly awkward. Rory might have gone the rest of his life secretly loving Amy if it hadn't been for Mels. Amy's reaction was great, too. More flashbacks to when they were younger would be awesome. Moffat, please comply. ;-)

Also, nice quick, non speaking cameos from Rose, Martha, and Donna. The TARDIS sent the Doctor on a guilt trip. Interesting how Rose was the first option right after the Doctor dismissed his own image...

So will the rest of the season be the Doctor trying to bring down the Silence and trying to find the Question? What is this? The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy? Wasn't the computer in the book created to come up with the ultimate question? So you ask the Question and that somehow ends the universe? I don't understand these villains and their need to destroy all living life. What's the point? You can't bask in your glory if you're dead, too.

Random: And this is so random. New coat for the Doctor? Huh? Did he make a stop somewhere, wore the coat for an adventure, and then decided to keep it? I prefer the tweed jacket actually. Previous Doctors have done long, flowy coats. I mean, Ten had a long coat. There's really no reason to have another long coat. Not that Eleven doesn't look super hot in the green coat. :-D And yay, Rory didn't revert back to old Rory! He's much more assertive here and he got to punch people! He even mimicked Amy's accent. I've been listening to the audio books narrated by Arthur Darvill and his Amy impression always cracks me up. The sonic is psychic? Whatever you think and it does? Wha? That's new and convenient. And the Doctor didn't show River how to fly the TARDIS! The TARDIS showed her how to fly the TARDIS. Nice.

Oh, wait. Does this mean Amy and Rory will never get to see baby Melody again? They pretty much have their baby and that's it? Sucky. This also puts a whole new spin on rapidly aged babies in sci fi.

So, I read on io9.com that there's a special animated commercial, deleted scene. Worth seeking out on YouTube? Or a waste of time?